


A New Normal

by waitingforyouonce



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, John Diggle is the Green Arrow, Laurel Lance is the Black Canary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:22:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23247715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waitingforyouonce/pseuds/waitingforyouonce
Summary: After Oliver decided retire from vigilantism, Laurel and Diggle took on the responsibility of keeping the city safe. Over the last 4 years they've managed to break out of The Arrow's shadow and solidify their partnership on and off the field. So when Oliver returns and expects to pick up where he left off, they find themselves clashing with the man they once considered their leader.
Relationships: John Diggle/Laurel Lance
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	A New Normal

**Author's Note:**

> So Laurel/Nyssa was always my main ship for E1 Laurel, but I liked the dynamic between Laurel & Diggle (the little we got of it) and thought it would be interesting to make that dynamic romantic. In this universe Diggle never reunited with Lyla, Laurel is metahuman and her powers are as advanced the Earth X version of her. Also Oliver didn’t leave town with Felicity for those six months so he was still in a darker head space and never made the decision to become the Green Arrow.

Hannah Russo had known that filing for divorce from her abusive husband Jonah wouldn’t go over well, but she hadn’t expected him and his goons to kidnap her and her best-friend Tanya from Tanya’s apartment.

Yet that’s exactly what happened. Now she’s tied up in one of Jonah’s warehouses while his men could be doing god knows what to Tanya.

“I know you didn’t think I was actually going to let you leave me,” Jonah glares daggers at her.

“Why are you doing this? I’m not even asking for anything in the divorce. Why can’t you just let me go?”

Jonah’s eyes flash with fury as he roughly grabs her face. “When I married you became my property to do whatever I please with.” He grips her face tight enough to leave bruises before abruptly letting go. “So since you’ve made it clear that my property has become defective I need to get rid of it.”

Outside of the warehouse, Laurel Lance uses her superhuman hearing to listen to everything that is happening between the abusive prick and his soon to be ex-wife.

Laurel has to admit that when she first discovered her canary cry after Sara died in her arms she’d been overwhelmed by it, but after years of practice it’s become such a part of her that she’s evolved from just having a sonic scream. Now she can use it to pick up on sounds a good distance away as well.

She hears a smack followed by a cry of pain and Laurel knows it’s time to make her move.

“Green Arrow, I’m going after the husband.” Laurel says into her comm before entering the warehouse.

“Then I’ll go after the men guarding the friend. Be safe, Black Canary.” John Diggle replies in her ear.

She quietly moves through the warehouse, frowning when she sees two of Russo’s men holding down Hannah while Russo attacks her. She uses her canary cry on Russo, knocking him into a wall before he crumples to ground unconscious.

Immediately the men let go of Hannah and focus their attention on Laurel who only smirks in response.

While this is going on John stealthily approaches the other side of the warehouse and quickly takes out the remaining men holding Tanya hostage.

Once the men have been incapacitated, John then rushes over to untie Tanya.

“Miss? Are you okay?” John asks the moment she’s free, his normal voice covered up by his voice modulator.

“I am thanks to you, Green Arrow.”

Her smile is grateful, but soon fades when she remembers the reason she’s here in the first place. “You have to help my friend Hannah…her husband is the one who brought us here.”

“That’s being taken care of already.” John says just as the sound of multiple bodies hitting the ground fill the air.

He smiles proudly at the sound before pulling out a flash drive and handing it to Tanya. “This should be enough evidence to put that bastard away for good.”

Nearby footsteps cause him to look up and he’s not at all surprised when he sees to see Laurel gently guiding a bruised and battered Hannah over.

“Oh my god, you’re the Black Canary!” Tanya gasps in shock when she spots her.

She really shouldn’t be surprised since it’s well known that the Green Arrow & the Black Canary regularly work together. Some including her even believe the two are romantically involved.

Laurel briefly smiles at the woman and is about to suggest they get somewhere safer when the sound of police sirens interrupt.

Although a lot of the SCPD appreciate their help, there are still a lot of them that would like nothing more than to put them behind bars.

She shares a look with John and he immediately searches for a way out of the warehouse. He spots a broken window in the ceiling and without missing beat wraps an arm around Laurel just as he fires a grappling arrow. The two ascend smoothly into the air and exit just as the SCPD rush into the warehouse.

The moment they land on the roof, the two separate and hop several more roofs before looking around to make sure no one from SCPD is after them. Once they confirm they are safe they turn to face each other once again.

“Are you okay?” John asks in his normal voice, stepping close enough to her that she has to tilt her head back in order to meet his gaze.

“Yeah,” she nods “You?”

“No wounds tonight.”

“Good,” Laurel smiles before bracing her hands on his chest and sliding them upward until they are looped around his neck.

In response, John wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her against him. Both let out relieved sighs the moment their bodies make contact.

“You were amazing out there, as always.”

Laurel’s smile widens. “So were you. I’m just glad everything worked out. ”

“It’s always nice when that happens.” John plants one hand at the center of her back while he moves the other to the back of her neck and slowly leans in until their lips are a few centimeters apart.

Laurel’s breathing grows slightly heavier and her gaze moves from his eyes to his lips. After what feels like an eternity he closes the distance and presses their lips together. 

Their mouths open immediately and John growls, wanting more and more of her. They kiss as though it’s their last moment on earth, only pulling away when the need to catch their breaths arises.

“You know,” he begins once they both are breathing normally “that gala we were supposed attend is still going on so we could still head there if you want.”

Laurel shakes her head, “I’d rather spend the rest of the night with my husband in our bed.”

“Okay,” John grins and fires another grappling arrow to make a zip line before securing Laurel in his arms and repelling them down the building.

When they touch the ground, they immediately rush across the street where Laurel’s motorcycle is parked. She climbs on and John settles on behind her, his large hands wrapping around her waist.

Soon they are pulling into the back entrance of Archer Security; the location of the security company John founded as well as their bunker. Though Oliver gave his hideout to him before he left town, they decided they would prefer to strike out on their own.

So when John found an old abandoned hotel that just so happened to have a fallout shelter beneath it, he wasted no time buying it. The shelter became their new bunker and the top floor was converted into a penthouse apartment for them.

The moment Laurel and John step foot in the bunker, they make quick work of putting away their weapons and removing their costumes. Now only in their underclothes, they take the elevator to their apartment.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” Laurel smiles at him before heading to the bathroom.

John waits about a half of a second before he follows after her, stripping out of the rest of his clothes on the way.

The shower stars out innocently, both washing the sweat and grime off their bodies. However, the moment the last of the soap is rinsed off, John wraps his arm around Laurel’s waist and hauls her against him.

He kisses her deeply, grunting when she kisses him back with everything she has. The hot water continues to rain down on them and he debates taking her right here before ultimately deciding their bed would be better and turning off the water.

“John,” she gasps when he scoops her up into his arms and carries her out to their bedroom. 

Once he gets to the bed he gently lays her down and grins when she immediately pulls him down on top of her.

Laurel would have had no problem staying in the shower, but as he settles between her thighs and her trembling legs wrap around his waist she is glad he had the foresight to move them.

He kisses her all over, pressing his mouth to her neck, collarbone, and finally her breasts. He takes her right nipple into his mouth causing Laurel to gasp and arch backward, pushing her hips against his. While he suckles and nips at one breast, he kneads the other with his hand.

Once he feels he has given her right breast enough attention he switches to her left. Beneath him, Laurel is unable to do much more than trail her hands up and down his back.

Eventually he releases that breast as well and moves his mouth lower, pressing lingering kisses along her torso. He stops abruptly, his mood becoming somber when he gets to the scar from Damien Darhk’s attack. He gently brushes his fingers across the scar, feeling slightly raised skin where the wound has healed over. He frowns as his mind goes back to that day…

_John thought he felt despair when he realized Andy had actually been working with Darhk all this time, but when Darhk stabs Laurel with one of Oliver’s arrows he feels his entire world collapse._

_It would probably surprise most that Laurel’s his world, but over the last year and a half that’s exactly what she’s become._

_He can admit that initially he and Laurel weren’t all that close despite their ties to Oliver. In fact a part of him had even felt some resentment towards her because he felt that she had negative impact on Oliver’s heroism. It wasn’t a fair assessment and he regrets even thinking that way about her._

_Still it wasn’t until Oliver’s presumed death and those months he spent undercover with the League that they truly began to develop a friendship._

_He helped her grieve Sara and she had been there for him when he’d been grieving Oliver. Shortly after that once she made it clear she planned on becoming a vigilante, he decided to help her. He’d been against it at first; not wanting to see what happened to Oliver or Sara happen to her, but when he looked into her eyes and saw the determination there he knew she wouldn’t be talked out of it. He felt a little better when she revealed that she was being trained by Nyssa and Ted, but he still felt the need to patrol with her in case something happened._

_At the time he told himself that he was only doing it to keep her safe, but he got to see firsthand how capable she truly was and gradually those patrols became the highlight of his days. His vigilante work with Oliver has become more of a second job, a duty; but patrolling with Laurel has actually been almost fun._

_Instead of having to focus on villains like Slade that were linked to a bigger picture, they went after rapists, muggers, abusers. That had been when he realized that while Sara had been her initial reasoning for becoming a vigilante, she continued because it was a way to go after the people that managed to skate the system and help the people who have been screwed over by that same system._

_Eventually he started coming up with reasons to spend time with Laurel outside of the patrols. They became friends and now almost two years later, he can admit that he’s fallen in love with her._

_Laurel falls to the ground, gurgling as she chokes on her own blood. Her hand goes to her torso where the arrow is protruding and he can see the panic in her eyes. It’s only then that Darhk releases them from his magic and immediately John begins to rush over to Laurel. Oliver gets there first and lifts her into his arms before sprinting out of the room._

_John follows after them, his thoughts going all over the place._

_He regrets trusting his brother, regrets not listening to Oliver when he voiced his reservations, he regrets wasting all this time worrying about what Oliver would think instead of telling Laurel how he felt, but most of all he regrets that this could cost the woman he loves her life._

Sensing where his thoughts have gone, Laurel tries to reassure her him, “John, I’m fine.”

She places her hand to his cheek and he feels both the cold metal from her engagement ring and wedding band along with the warmth of her hand.

He places his own hand on top of hers and links their fingers together “Laurel, I know you’re fine, but this scar is a reminder that you almost weren’t.”

“I know, but I guess I like to look at it as a reminder of my second chance. I could have died and I never would have been able to go for the District Attorney job, I wouldn’t get to help people as the Black Canary, and most importantly without that second chance I wouldn’t gotten to be with the love of my life,” she looks at him warmly, grinning when the somber look in his eyes fades, making it clear that her words have done the trick.

“I love you,” he utters before pressing a kiss to her hand.

“I love you,” she returns his declaration with one of her own.

The words are barely out of her mouth before John’s head moves down lower, her thighs are spread open, and his breath is hot against her center. She trembles in anticipation as he grips her thighs to keep her steady before trailing his tongue along her slit.

Laurel grabs the back of his head and grinds her hips against his face. He groans happily as his lips and tongue lap at her, causing his hands to tighten around her hips.

“Oh God…. harder,” she screams as she digs the heels of her feet into his back and her sex presses harder against his mouth.  
  
John lets go of her hips and slides one of his large hands up her body to cup one of her breasts. He gently squeezes it before rubbing his thumb across her nipple. As he does this he continues to thrust his tongue in and out of her, sucking her clit into his mouth with every thrust outward. 

“You’re so wet,” he groans into her pulsating sex.

She gasps and as he continues to devour her, John can feel his cock throb almost painfully. So with each thrust of his tongue he grinds his cock against the bed, his ass clenching every time his cock rubs against the soft cotton sheets. 

Laurel can feel her clit grow stiffer and her walls clench as he continues thrusting his tongue in and out of her. “God your mouth feels so…” she moans as her back arches off the mattress.

“That’s it, Laurel…come for me,” he demands against her mound, knowing that she is close to her climax.  
  
Those words are all it takes to push her over the edge. She lets out a pleasure filled scream as she explodes, her thighs clenching his face and her fingers clutching his head.

Greedily, John laps up her arousal, smiling slightly when her pussy spasms against his lips. He gradually slows down his movements until he can pull away before soothing her by gently stroking the soft skin of her thighs with his fingertips.  
  
“I’m so glad we decided to come back here instead of going to that gala,” she purrs happily as she caresses the back of his head.  
  
John looks up at her from between her legs; a mischievous grin on his face as he catches her clit between his teeth. She lets out a moan at the contact and when he releases her clit a few seconds later, she slides her hand between her legs and wipes away the traces of her arousal smeared on his chin.

Another moan escapes from her mouth when he immediately grabs her hand and sucks the arousal off her fingers. She doesn’t bother pretending that the feel of his mouth on her fingers doesn’t send a jolt between her legs.

He releases her fingers and drops his head back between her thighs, groaning as he runs his tongue along her wet seam.

Once again his mouth is heaven, but as good as it feels, she’s ready for more than his mouth. Don’t get her wrong, she loves that he has no problem going down on her multiple times, but there are times where only the feeling of his cock inside of her will do.

Now is one of those times.

He apparently reads the look in her eyes because suddenly he’s looming over her so his mouth is only mere centimeters away from hers. She still has her legs draped over his shoulders and they begin to tremble when he rubs the head of his cock at her entrance. It feels so good that it only increases her eagerness to have him inside her.  
  
Slightly frustrated, she attempts to lift her hips in order to get him inside of her, but John moves his hips away from her.

“Patience,” he grins down at her.

She rolls her eyes even as she returns his smile.

That smile quickly fades when he presses his fists into mattress on either side of her and thrusts into her.  
  
She lets out a moan before digging the heels of her feet into his back and wrapping her hands around his large biceps. Her hips arch upward, pinning his balls against her ass and her breasts sway as he slams in and out of her.

John had known before he slid inside of her that she would feel extraordinary and he is not disappointed. Her sex is clamped down so tightly around him that it feels as though he’s thrusting into a fist. As result he knows it won’t take much for him to be pushed over the edge.

Part of him wants to prolong this because it means getting to stay inside of her longer, but each plunge inside makes that idea impossible. So he gives in, sliding in and out of her wet heat at a more hurried pace.

“Damn,” he growls out as she clenches even tighter around him, signaling that her orgasm is on the way. 

Laurel lets go of his biceps and grips at the sheets as he lowers his body onto hers and thrusts harder. With every thrust, his nose nuzzles against hers, his lips to gently graze hers, his hard nipples brush against her own erect nipples while his abs rub against her defined stomach. Each sensation sends a jolt through her, intensifying her pleasure.  
  
“Come for me,” he whispers against her lips as he drives into her.  
  
“John,” she moans, her back arching as she flies over the edge. Lost in the throes of her orgasm, she holds nothing back and the next time she moans her canary cry fills the room.

Luckily for him, Cisco developed a technology that makes it so the cry doesn’t hurt his hearing.  
Still the realization that he managed to trigger Laurel’s canary cry despite how much control she has over it is his undoing.

“Laurel,” he growls as he drives into her and fills her up with his cum.  
  
They continue moving together, his cock plunging in and out as her walls milk his shaft until their combined arousal is seeping from her.   
  
He thrusts into her one last time before collapsing on top of her. He nuzzles his lips in the crook of her neck and when he rolls away from her, she immediately misses him. It’s something that shouldn’t be the case since she’s already come three times tonight, but she learned a long time ago that when it comes to John Diggle she can never get enough.

“I know that look.”

Her husband’s words draw her out of her thoughts and she looks at him questioningly, “What look?”

“The look that says you want to have your way with me again,” he grins smugly at her.

He looks so smug that part of her wants to deny it, but that would be wasting time that could be spent doing something a lot more pleasurable. Instead she asks, “Is that an offer?”

“I need a bit of time to recover,” he glances down at his semi-hard erection “but in the meantime….”

His voice trails off as he begins kissing his way down her body. He begins at her lips, moves down to her neck, smiling slightly when he feels her pulse race. By the time he gets to her breasts, Laurel is a trembling moaning mess.

Her back arches as his hands wrap around her breasts and he begins pinching her nipples. She lets out a groan of disappointment when he lets go of her breasts and continues licking his way down to her stomach.

As he moves lower, he opens her thighs and trails a finger along her slit before lowering his head and doing the same with his tongue. He tongue moves back and forth between her entrance and her clit several times, causing Laurel to moan and rock her hips.

“John….your tongue… oh,” she groans incoherently as he massages her clit with his fingers and thrusts his tongue deeper inside of her. She grips at the sheets and works her hips faster and faster until she is finally pushed over the edge.

Laurel is still coming down from her orgasm when John crawls up her body until he’s eye level with her and kisses her passionately. She can taste herself on his lips, but it doesn’t deter her. Instead she opens her mouth so she can plunder his mouth with her tongue. 

They kiss heatedly for what seems like hours until they both have to pull away to catch their breaths.

The moment Laurel is breathing normally, she rolls them over so John is flat on his back and straddles his hips. He watches as she reaches into the drawer next to the bed and pulls out a pair of handcuffs. He already knows where this is going so he raises his arms above his head so she can lock the cuffs around his wrists.

“I wonder what the people of Star City would think if they knew I had the Green Arrow handcuffed and at my mercy,” she teases as she smirks down at him.

“If they had the view that I have right now, they would be wishing they could switch places with me.”

Though his words were meant as a tease she can also see the sincerity in his eyes as his gaze carefully trails over her. It makes her want to return the favor and she does…using her mouth and hands.

Laurel trails her nails across his chest as she runs her tongue across his neck. He groans and she smiles slightly before moving down to kiss his chest. She lingers at his torso, her lips nipping at his abdominal muscles. 

When she reaches his thighs, she wastes no time wrapping her hand around his cock and stroking him gently as she swirls her tongue around the head. Within seconds his semi-hard erection grows harder so she takes him deeper into her mouth and sucks until he’s fully erect.

She releases his erection and quickly straddles him, sighing as she impales herself on him. She slides her hands up his stomach, chest, and arms until she reaches his cuffed wrists. She removes them with ease and tosses them onto the floor before she starts riding him slowly and deeply.

John sighs happily and grips her hips as her walls contract around him. Soon her movements grow quicker and quicker until she’s practically bouncing on top of him.

“John,” Laurel whimpers and grips at his shoulders to keep herself balanced.

It feels so good that he struggles to keep his eyes open as she rides him wildly. His hips rise up to meet every one of her downward thrusts and before long they are both nearing their peaks. John can feel the exact moment that she is pushed over the edge because she suddenly feels wetter, hotter, and her walls clamp down even tighter around him. 

Laurel collapses onto his chest as her orgasm rushes through her, the pleasure making its way to every single part of her body. Below her, John’s thrusts become unrestrained until seconds later she feels his orgasm slam into her.

He rests his head in the crook of her neck as they both come down from their orgasms. Once their breathing evens out, he shifts so he can wrap an arm around her waist and then pulls the sheet over their cooling bodies.

“I missed you today,” Laurel murmurs against his chest.

“I missed you too,” he presses a kiss to the top of her head.

Between her job as District Attorney and him running his security company, as well as their vigilante exploits, there are days where they don’t get to see much of each other. That is why they generally make a point of having lunch together. Today that wasn’t possible though since she had a trial that lasted most of the day.

“What do you want to eat for dinner?”

“How did you know I haven’t eaten dinner?” She looks at him in surprise.

“I know you,” he gives her a meaningful look before gently running the back of his fingers across her cheek. “You get so focused on your work that you sometimes forget to eat.”

“John, you don’t have to–” she starts to say because she doesn’t want him to feel obligated to go out of his way, but he interrupts her.

“Of course I do,” he argues as lifts her off of him and places her back on the bed. He then covers her with the sheet and pecks her lips.

She watches unabashedly as he climbs out of bed and walks across the room, the muscles in his butt clenching with each step he takes. He pulls a pair of boxer briefs out of a drawer and slips them on.

“You know it’s rude to stare,” he teases after turning around to face her.

Laurel raises an amused eyebrow “Is that so?”

He nods.

“Then you won’t have any problem keeping your eyes off me,” She rips the sheet away and smiles haughtily as his brown eyes darken even more.

At the sight of Laurel’s naked body, his cock grows hard immediately. Still as much as he wants to climb back into bed and pick up where they left off, he resists because his main priority at the moment is to get food in his wife’s stomach.

* * *

The next morning John and Laurel spar together in the sparring room they have set up in their bunker.

“Best three out of five.” Laurel says as she hooks an ankle above his knee and pushes at his bare chest.

Although she knows John could have rolled out of the move, he instead allows her to pin him beneath her.

Laurel starts to question him, but when he smiles up at her, his eyes twinkling she realizes he’s trying to distract her. So far they’ve both won two matches each so whoever wins this next one wins the entire thing.

Deciding to ignore him, she jumps up and when he follows after her she charges.

He blocks her move and does a counter attack that Laurel also manages to block. This happens over and over again, both evenly matched with each other.

Gradually Laurel feels herself growing tired and she begins to think of another play. John is much taller and stronger than her so she tends to rely on being faster. She fakes a punch and John dodges it, allowing her to catch him unaware with a spin kick.  
  
He grunts when her foot makes contact with his chest and in response suddenly throws her over his shoulder in hopes of throwing her off balance. But Laurel only reacts by wrapping her hands around his neck, holding him in a tight grip.

She hisses in his ear. “Wrong move, John. Now all I have to do is wait a few more seconds and the match goes to me.”

Realizing that she’s right, he drops forward making a point of cradling the back of her head before dragging them downward. He wraps his other arm around her back to absorb the impact and they both let out grunts as they hit the floor.

John hovers above her, suddenly struck by her beauty. He leans over so they are nose to nose, his brown eyes meeting her green ones. The tension between them becomes so intense that neither is able to do anything, but act on it.

Their lips come together and immediately he groans as Laurel sighs into him. He feels a jolt of electricity go though his body, hitting his spine before settling in his groin.

Laurel is feeling similarly and wastes no time sliding her hands up his neck to clutch his face in her hands, dragging him in for a more passionate kiss.

“I hope you know this doesn’t count as a win,” Laurel says breathlessly when they finally break the kiss.

“I’ll call a draw on the sparring, but this” he gestures at their current position “is definitely a win.”

Laurel has to admit that he has a point.

While they usually take their sparring very seriously, there are times when things turn more sensual between them. She knows it’s partially because there was a time when they felt like couldn’t act on their attraction…

_John walks into the Arrow bunker, not at all surprised by how quiet it is. After Oliver’s announcement that they were going to be protecting Malcolm Merlyn from the League, they understandably needed some time to process. So instead of suiting up, they all agreed to take the night off._

_He had been angry himself, especially because of the affect the news had on Laurel. She’d been furious when Oliver had shown up with Merlyn and she realized that not only had Oliver hid that Merlyn was responsible for her sister’s death, she was now being asked to help protect him._

_When she stormed off he wanted to go after her, but he knew it would best if he heard everything. So he listened grudgingly as Oliver explained that Merlyn’s knowledge on the League would be useful and that the only way Merlyn would agree is if they protected him._

_Once Oliver had left with Merlyn, John had immediately gone to Laurel’s apartment and been disappointed when it was clear she wasn’t home. He then had gone to her office in hopes that she was there working on a case or something, but once again he came up short. Disappointed, he decided to come back to the bunker and work out a little._

_As he gets to the training area, a smile appears on his face when he realizes the object of his thoughts is right here. She's wearing sports bra that exposes her midriff along with a pair of slightly baggy sweats and she's obviously worked up a sweat, but she looks just as beautiful to him as when she does when she's dressed to the nines._

_He noiselessly makes his way closer, his gaze never wavering from Laurel._

_At the moment, she is working out her frustrations on a punching bag and he marvels at her skill level. He remembers Sara mentioning in the past that she and Laurel had taken some boxing classes along with their self-defense classes as kids, but he’d forgotten about that until now. He feels a swell of pride as she punches the bag with accurate precision and shows no signs of tiring out._

_"I wasn't expecting to find you here." He says after a while, unable to stay silent._

_He initially wonders if she even heard him until she spins around punches him in the upper chest._

_"Ouch." He winces, surprised that the punch actually hurt._

_"I’m sorry, John,” Laurel winces apologetically when she realizes who she punched. “But didn’t anyone ever tell you that it's a bad idea to sneak up on people?" She looks up at him, her hands on her hips. As she gets a good look at him, the anger she was feeling because of this situation with Malcolm Merlyn slowly eases._

_Instead arousal begins to flood to her core as her gaze moves down his body. His black sleeveless shirt clings to his torso, making his muscles seem more imposing than usual. He matched it with a pair of black pants and she exhales as she imagines what he would look like without both._

_To distance herself from those thoughts, she decides to focus on his face, though she doubts that will help._

_John smiles, causing Laurel to swallow slowly as her face flushes._

_His own gaze becomes drawn to her stomach, watching as a drop of sweat rolls from her belly button and gets lost in her pants. How he would love to get lost in her pants along with the rest of her._

_Shaking his head of those thoughts, John asks, “So I take it you’re here punching the hell out of that bag because of Oliver’s news about Merlyn?”_

_Laurel feels her body tingle when she sees the appreciation in his eyes, but she ignores it as she takes off her gloves. Once they’re off she focuses on his initial question. "Part of me wanted to go out and patrol, but I knew my head wasn’t in the right space for that so I thought I would work out my frustrations here,” she explains._

_Of course now that she’s standing here with John looking like that she’s feeling a much different frustration._

_"Looks like we were thinking along the same lines and that gives me an idea …" John moves across the room and picks up two staffs before making his way back to Laurel. "Since we both need to work through our anger I was thinking we could spar together." He shrugs as though his suggestion isn't a big deal, but the truth is he wants to spend time with her and this is the best way to do so._

_"I don't know if that's a good idea." Laurel looks up at him hesitantly. Over the last few months she’s started to have feelings for him and she knows it will be harder to control herself if she gets too close to him. And sparring definitely means close contact._

_"If you're afraid I'm too strong for you, don't worry I'll go easy on you." He grins cockily at her knowing his words will spur her on._

_"I don't need you to go easy on me." She snatches one of the staffs from his grip. "Bring it on, John."_

_"Okay now you're asking for it." He grins as they both get into position._

_They move together in a way that is tinged with eroticism despite the natural aggression that goes along with their sparring. They spend time weaving and dodging and blocking and parrying each other's blows._

_"Whoa!" Laurel grunts when the end of John’s staff nearly comes in contact with her bare stomach._

_"Sorry," He moves his staff away before placing his hand on her stomach to check for any injuries._

_The moment his hand makes contact with her stomach, they both feel a jolt of arousal flow through their bodies. John pulls his hand back immediately, afraid if he doesn't he'll end up hauling her into his arms. Laurel steps back as well before getting back into her fighting stance and before long they get back to their battle._

_John is pleasantly surprised and impressed by her how far her sparring has come over the last several months. He of course has a lot more experience than she does, but she has still mostly been able to keep up with him blow for blow._

_At one point she even manages to pin him to the wall, her staff pressed against his neck. When she looks up at him with smug eyes, it takes everything in him not to kiss her right then and there. He feels both relief and disappointment when she pulls back._

_Laurel blinks rapidly when John uses his empty hand to peel off his shirt and tosses it onto the floor, leaving him shirtless. "Is that really necessary?" She scoffs, trying to not to get caught up in the muscular planes of his chest and how his pants cling to him._

_"It was sticking to my chest." He shrugs, despite knowing that had really only been half the reason. He'd also done so in hopes to distract Laurel the way her mere presence is distracting him. It apparently works and when they begin to spar again he knocks her to the floor with a sweep of his staff. He smirks when Laurel glares up at him in outrage. "You really should learn to pay more attention to your surroundings, Laurel."_

_After several months of training, Laurel has learned that letting your opponent think they won can sometimes work as an advantage. So she stays on the floor, watching his every move, waiting for the chance to strike._

_When John leans down to help her up, she sticks out her leg out before wrapping it around his knee and pulling. He's surprised when he loses his balance and falls face first onto the floor. He rolls onto his back and Laurel takes the opportunity to straddle him before pressing her staff across his chest._

_"What were you saying about paying attention to surroundings?" She raises an eyebrow at him._

_John stares into her eyes before moving his gaze to her mouth. He licks his lips, debating whether or not he should close the gap between them. He can see the debate in Laurel’s eyes as well and just when it seems like they both will give in to what’s been brewing between them for a while now, they hear the elevator indicating Oliver has entered the bunker._

_Spell broken, Laurel clears her throat and straightens her body, “I think we’ve sparred enough for today.” She stands up and quickly moves to put her staff away._

_John stands up as well and puts his own staff away, guilt radiating off them both as they think about what almost happened._

“Laurel?”

Laurel shakes her head of the memory and sees her husband looking at her, slight concern in his gaze. “Sorry, I was just thinking about how our sparring sessions used to go.”

“So was I,” he smiles slyly. “They were nice, but I definitely prefer the way we spar now.”

“You’re only saying that because our sparring now tends to end with sex.”

John doesn’t bother denying it because it’s partially true. “But I’m also saying that because I love seeing how far you’ve come.” He wraps his hand around one of her biceps and gently squeezes, feeling the hard muscles.

His smile widens when she playfully flexes. “You know I Iike to tease you about your thing for my arms, but now I kind of get it.”

Laurel feels her face flush slightly at his reminder, but is otherwise unashamed. She loves his arms and has never made that a secret.

She is about to lean in for another kiss when she hears a ding indicating someone has entered the bunker. Right after that she hears Helena’s voice through the intercom.

“You have company so if you’re doing something indecent you might want to cover up.”

Laurel rolls her eyes and pushes against John’s chest so he lets her up.

He does as she asks, but not before pecking her lips.

Once they are on their feet, they head to the main cortex of the bunker and are surprised to not only find Helena, but Dinah Drake as well.

“Helena, Dinah,” she greets both women the moment she gets close enough; the worry in her gaze is obvious.

“What’s going on?” John folds his arms across his chest.

While both women are valued members of the team, like most of their team members they are only around on a part time basis; Helena because of her 1 year old daughter Bianca and Dinah due to her job as the Captain of the SCPD.

As a result it’s already unlikely for either woman to be at the bunker this early on their own. So they know something has to be up if both women are here together.

Dinah lets out a breath, “There’s no easy way to say this, but there have been some rumblings that Jonah Russo is planning on having you taken out, Laurel.”

John stands up straighter, his body growing tense at the thought of his wife being in danger. His mind works overtime as he thinks of ways to keep her safe.

Next to him, Laurel has a calmer reaction.“I’m assuming this is because unlike the last district attorney, I actually made the decision to charge him for his crimes.”

“Yeah,” Dinah confirms.

Laurel can’t say she’s all that surprised. The reason Russo managed to get away unscathed all these years was because he had a lot of people in his back pocket, including the DA before her. Once Laurel took over, she made a lot of changes in DA’s office, a decision that has pissed off a lot of rich and powerful criminals in the city.

“It seems Russo believes that getting rid of you would mean that whoever replaced you would either be too afraid to prosecute his case or could be bought off.”

“And according to one of my former connections he’s paying big bucks to whoever gets rid of you,” Helena explains. Over the years Helena has a made a point of distancing herself from her mob past, but she still has some connections and that definitely comes in handy at times like this.

“Most have refused because with how high profile you are, it’s just not worth the blowback, but there is one guy desperate enough to the job.”

“Jason Parker,” Dinah pulls up a photo of a blonde haired man in his late-thirties. “He’s a mid-level hitman who is having some money troubles. I had a couple of my officers go to his last known address, but he’s obviously staying in hiding for now. So until we catch this guy and the trial is over, I want to put police protection on you.”

Laurel immediately shakes her head. “Having constant police protection will cost the city a lot of money. That’s not something I’m willing to do.”

“Laurel’s right,” John agrees much to Dinah and Helena’s surprise. “There is no point in wasting all that money when I’m perfectly capable of providing protection.”

Laurel turns to him, the protest apparent in her gaze. “John, this trial could last months and you have a company to run.” She knows how import his company is to him and she would hate for him to have pull back on it because of her. “Can you really afford to be away that long?”

“I can when it involves the woman I love.”

Laurel’s eyes widen slightly when she sees the intensity reflected in his eyes.

Sensing the sudden tension, Helena and Dinah silently move to another part of the bunker to give them some privacy.

John’s gaze moves to the strands of hair that have managed to escape from her ponytail. He gently tucks them behind her ear before trailing his fingertips along her cheek. “I almost lost you once, Dinah.” He uses her actual first name to show her just how serious he is.

“If this was any other situation I would delegate and give it to one of my people, but when it comes to your life the only person I trust to keep you safe is me. So please let me protect you.”

“Okay,” Laurel agrees with a nod of her head.

John exhales in relief and he takes a small step forward to close the remaining distance between them.

Laurel’s hands slide up his chest and snake around his neck just before she pulls his head down for a kiss. John cradles her face in his hands and deepens the kiss.

* * *

For the first time in four years, Oliver Queen walks into The Arrow bunker and is immediately surprised by the condition it’s in. Although the bunker seems to be in the same condition it was in before he left, the dust covering every makes it clear that it hasn’t been used in quite some time.

Part of him is disappointed that Diggle apparently decided against picking up the Arrow mantle, but he also gets it. It takes a lot out of you and he knows that Diggle hadn’t exactly been on the best terms with him before he left town. So that could have very well contributed to him deciding against it.

As for Laurel, he’s actually very glad that she went back to living a normal life. She only really became a vigilante because of Sara’s death and after Sara was resurrected he hoped that it would only be a matter of time before she quit. It’s not that he finds her incapable, but vigilantism wasn’t the kind of life she was meant for and he hates that she was dragged into it.

Still that means that the city needs The Arrow more than ever. He turns to look for Felicity and isn’t surprised to see that she has already managed to boot up one of the computers.

“Felicity, can you see what crime is like in the city?”

Felicity nods and does some searching on the Star City News website. She immediately spies an article of interest that was just posted a half hour ago. She clicks on it and a video begins to play.

“It seems the Black Canary & the Green Arrow had a busy night,” the news reporter begins. “Not only did the resident heroes of Star City put a stop to several muggings, they also stopped the attempted murder of Hannah Russo, the estranged wife of mob boss Jonah Russo. As a result of their actions last night, Jonah Russo was arrested by the SCPD and charged with kidnapping, assault, and attempted murder with multiple other charges pending.”

Oliver is torn between surprise that Laurel and Diggle apparently did continue being vigilantes and confusion over the name change from the Arrow. He chooses to focus on his confusion.

“Green Arrow?”

Felicity pauses the video and begins a more thorough search. “It looks like Diggle wanted distinguish himself from the Arrow.”

Felicity smiles as she sees headline after headline mentioning both Black Canary and Green Arrow. “And based on everything I’m seeing, they seem to be very popular” She clicks on another page.

Felicity points at the screen. “Nice new costumes too.”

He looks at a picture of Laurel and John standing side by side in their vigilante gear. Diggle’s costume is similar to his Arrow costume, but is made of a different material and uses a lighter green. Meanwhile Laurel’s costume is a different design entirely and instead of being all-black, now has dashes of yellow in it.

He has to admit that the costumes are nice, but he’s not sure he likes how much attention they seem to be drawing. That kind of vigilantism may work for the Flash in a town like Central City, but Star City has always been a lot darker and being so visible puts them in a lot more danger.

Unaware of his inner turmoil, Felicity delves in deeper. “It looks like Diggle and Laurel work together the most, but they also have been seen with another Canary who is definitely not Sara, some guy named Wild Dog” her eyes widen when she realizes that she recognizes the last two people despite their costumes “and apparently Helena Bertinelli and Ted Grant.”

Oliver frowns, not liking that they’ve chosen to bring in people he doesn’t know and hasn’t trained into the fold. He especially doesn’t like that they’re working with Helena and Ted who both have dangerous pasts.

What exactly went on while he was gone?


End file.
